Chapter 656: Memory Fragments

On the road, he kept recalling scenes from his previous life.

What he could be sure of is that at this time in his previous life, Yan Jinbo definitely had not died.

Of course, many of the things happening now are beyond his control.

For example, in his previous life he never realized until death that he was not the real "Xu Tian", and Tang Bingyan never disappeared suddenly; she had been overseeing everything at the Tang Family all along.

But after Rebirth, many things have changed.

His Rebirth will create a butterfly effect, and this Xu Tian had already prepared for it.

But this time, Yan Jinbo's death seems to have deviated too far off course.

As far as he knows, Yan Jinbo has always been in good health, and in his previous life there were no reports of any sudden illness; how could a healthy middle‑aged man die suddenly?

Just as the taxi was about to enter the main road leading to the Yan family old house, a stray cat suddenly darted out ahead.

"Whoa!" the driver swore, forced to slam on the brakes.

Xu Tian, sitting in the rear seat, was momentarily careless and slammed into the front seat backrest.

"Sir, are you okay?" the driver asked nervously, turning to look at Xu Tian in the back seat, "Sorry, a cat just darted out ahead."

"I'm fine," Xu Tian waved his hand, the violent impact to his forehead leaving him dazed.

However, just as he readjusted his posture, a sharp stabbing pain suddenly surged in his head, as if an invisible needle had pierced his brain straight from his temple.

Xu Tian clenched his teeth, pressed his head hard against the front seat, trying to alleviate the sudden pain.

In a daze, countless fragmentary memories flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern, but the pieces were so scattered that he could not piece them into a coherent recollection.

He saw a little boy standing on a training ground littered with wooden stakes, and in the distance an elderly man in white robes with a wrinkled face.

"Grandpa, why aren't my dad and mom coming to see me?"

The boy's tone was both aggrieved and dejected.

"They can't possibly come to see you," the white‑clad elder said solemnly, "From now on you'll live with me."

"Why aren't they coming? Have they abandoned me?" the boy kept asking.

"They're all dead; in this world you have no relatives other than me."

"What?"

The boy froze, and two seconds later let out a wail and began crying.

"Grandpa, you're lying; my dad and mom won't die, my family won't die!"

"Why are you crying? A real man must not cry!" The elder, seeing the boy sob, not only offered no comfort but scowled and rebuked him.

"If I ever see you crying again, you'll do an extra five thousand push‑ups, run thirty kilometers fast, and you may not eat or rest until you finish!"

"The only person you can rely on is yourself; you must grow quickly, understand?"

"Got it… got it." PenFun Library

The boy wiped his tears, looked at the white‑clad elder with a half‑understanding gaze, then the elder took his hand and led him out of the training ground.

When he stepped out of the training ground and just saw the outside scenery, all the images abruptly stopped.

Xu Tian shook his head vigorously; as the stabbing pain at his temple faded, he slumped against the rear seat backrest of the taxi.

He could confirm that those images were memories from his own childhood; the boy in the scenes looked almost exactly like his younger self.

Xu Tian also recalled the boy's address to the white‑clad elder; that elder must indeed have been his grandfather.

The style of that training ground resembled the traditional Martial Hall of a Huaxia martial family, and the rows of simple ancient buildings outside the hall were likely the traditional architecture he had seen on a business trip to A City.

So, he and his grandfather were probably Huaxia people, raised in A City since childhood, and from their conversation he could tell that he had no other family besides his grandfather.

Xu Tian let out a sigh, feeling somewhat despondent.

He hadn't expected that even the real him had no parents, with only his grandfather as family.

However, the fragments he just recalled were far too limited, preventing him from remembering what exactly happened to his parents and family that caused them all to pass away.

Originally, due to memory transplantation and overwriting, Xu Tian had given up hope of regaining his original memories, yet he hadn't expected the taxi driver's sudden brake to unexpectedly trigger scattered fragments of his own memories.

Perhaps he hadn't recalled these before because of his unwavering belief in the identity of Xu Tian,

who, once he learns the truth, his intense quest for his true self will gradually retrieve the portion of memories that originally belonged to him.

After all, memory formatting and transplantation surgeries have not been recognized by the global medical community, so many complications are bound to arise in practice.

Learning that his lost memories might be recovered gave Xu Tian some hope, but being suddenly told that his true self had also lost his parents and family left him unable to face it.

Because of Xu Tian's experiences and his family's attitude toward him, he yearned for a complete family; he had once thought that in his lifetime he might reunite with his real family, but now he must accept that, aside from his grandfather, there are no other relatives, and the sole grandfather's whereabouts and fate are unknown, which makes him unable to calm down at all.

Soon, the taxi arrived at the Yan family old house; Xu Tian forced himself to suppress his tangled emotions, transferred the fare to the driver, and got out.

When he reached the doorway, he saw Yan Qingxue, who had just stepped out of the car as well; seeing his pale face, Yan Qingxue asked with concern, "Xu Tian, aren't you feeling unwell?"

"No, I didn't sleep well last night," Xu Tian rubbed his temples, mustered his energy and lowered his voice, "Godmother also called you, right?"

"Yes, it woke me up early this morning, but Xu Tian, don't you find this strange? The Yan family members all get regular health check‑ups every year, and my second uncle has always been in good shape, so how could he suddenly die at home?" Yan Qingxue whispered conspiratorially into Xu Tian's ear.

"And I heard from my mother that he died in his own bed; if it were a sudden illness, wouldn't someone in the Yan family notice?"

"Let's go inside and take a look first," Xu Tian agreed, also finding the matter very suspicious.

As soon as the two entered the Yan family old house, they could feel the oppressive atmosphere inside, and they hurried deeper, occasionally hearing a few cries and shouts.

The maid opened the door for them; just as they reached the living room, they heard Yan Ershen's wailing.

"Mother, you must take care of your health; you absolutely cannot collapse again at this time!" Yan Hongyu gently comforted Yan Ershen, supporting her arm.

"Mom, you also need to watch your health; at a time like this you absolutely cannot collapse again!" Yan Hongyu supported Yan Ershen's arm and gently urged her.